Garden Photography Tips Gleaned From the Baker Creek Seed Catalog

I don’t know if I am the last person on the planet to see a copy of the Baker Creek seed catalog, but it I was stunned by how beautiful it is! Of course, it isn’t just a pretty face, it is chock full of unusual heirloom varieties and interesting tid bits about where the plants are from and how to grow them. But that’s for another day. Today I wanted to share some ideas for photographing your garden that I picked up from the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog.

Use Creative Backgrounds

Baker Creek uses several different backgrounds that really make their fruits, vegetables, and flowers stand out. Old, wooden tabletops, wide planked wood floors, large leaves, and vintage fabrics, to just name a few. Placing your harvest directly on the intended background keeps your photo uncluttered and gives it a contemporary look.

Remember That The Inside Can Be As Beautiful As The Outside

Don’t just take the obvious shot. Consider whether the inside of a beet or the interior cross section of a bunch of lettuce would make an interesting photo. Cutting a wedge out of melons is an neat way show both the exterior and interior of the fruit.

Zoom In On Those Beauties

So often I see photos where the subject of the photo is a tiny spec floating in a sea of uninteresting stuff. Flowers, foliage, fruits and vegetables are beautiful enough to fill up the whole photo. Get close and use the macro feature on your camera if needed. It’s the button that has a tulip icon.

Use Props

In this photo, they’re using a fluted bundt cake pan to arrange the vegetables. Incorporating interesting bowls, utensils, and other ephemera makes your photo more interesting and gives it more depth.

What are your best plant photography tips?

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